$40M secured for military suicide prevention efforts

$40M secured for military suicide prevention efforts

East Brunswick’s Linda Bean says services must be immediately accessible, 24 hours a day
BY CHRIS ZAWISTOWSKI
Staff Writer

The figure, Rep. Rush Holt said, is stunning: Eighteen veterans commit suicide each day.

“That’s a daily average that is intolerable,” he said. “We can’t let that continue.”

And now, after years of advocacy and the work and support of East Brunswick residents Linda and Greg Bean, whose son died by suicide after serving two tours in Iraq, Holt (D-12th District) announced he has secured funding that just might help to turn these tragic figures around. Holt announced during a teleconference on Monday that $40million will be allocated in the final 2012 federal budget to support military suicide prevention.

“These funds will help to convey a critical message to America’s soldiers and veterans: You are not alone,” Holt said. “If you have suffered such trauma in service to this country that you are considering suicide, America stands ready to help you.”

Holt said that the funding — which will be split equally between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs — will be used to enhance current suicide prevention programs, create new ones, and work to publicize these services for the soldiers and veterans who need them. Both Holt and Linda Bean said this final part is key. Before her son died in September 2008, Linda said, she had no idea what soldiers and veterans faced when they were looking for help.

U.S. Army Sgt. Coleman Bean suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after his first tour of duty, but he had limited access to veterans’ services as a member of the U.S. Army’s Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) and was called back to duty without receiving treatment. After returning home from his second tour, Coleman took his life on Sept. 6, 2008, at age 25.

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